


Act 2: Riches to Rags

by tighthae



Series: The Idol Program [2]
Category: AOA | Ace of Angels, NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Idols, F/F, M/M, it's hyejeong/mina if u squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-30 02:01:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10866684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tighthae/pseuds/tighthae
Summary: Mina may be overreacting just a tiny bit. But blackmailing, defamation, slander, breaking and entering, and stealing are only illegal when someone finds out, right?





	Act 2: Riches to Rags

**Author's Note:**

> the second installment for the idol program with its first f/f ship! another thanks to [hellavenus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellavenus/pseuds/hellavenus) for editing my story hope u all enjoy

“This is great. Just great. Not only did those two probably push me down the popularity ladder even more, they also have the nerve to act like nothing even happened! Can you believe the audacity -- the nerve? I bet Hyejeong was behind this. She's had it out for me since day one and you know it, Choa! She really thinks she can push me down the ladder even more? Well the jokes on her because I will be in the Star Three again whether she likes it or not. We need a PR stunt right now. I swear to god Choa, if this doesn’t work I will shoot up this fucking school and not look back on my way to China to escape the scene! Do you think I'm kidding?” Mina was going to break the windows inside the hallway screaming into her phone (or Mina would be arrested for the contemplation of a mass shooting).

“Mina, for the last time, I am your host, not your PR team. If you need a “PR Stunt”, hire a publicity agent. It's your fault for ruining your own reputation. Second, how is Hyejeong tied into all of this? Doyoung and Jaehyun just wanted to reveal their relationship so they could be publically affectionate with each other. I don't see anything wrong with that. You're just being bitter because before you got the chance to out them you got caught in the act.” Choa had been busy typing essays for people all day, and her neck was starting to hurt from holding her phone between her ear and her shoulder. 

“They could've done it on my time. Honestly, they're being really inconsiderate. I'm just trying to get back into the Star Three and that Doyoung dude knocked me down from wherever the fuck I am now to even lower, because he wanted to go make out on stage with Jaehyun. You'd think people would have common courtesy and let some other people gain some popularity, even if it was through not-so-good-means. Or in my case, regain it through not-so-good means. It's kind of rude for them to just suddenly become a power couple and bump everyone down the list. Honestly, out of everyone in this school I deserved a spot in the Top 3.”

“Please just stay on one topic.” Choa said, while hitting the backspace repeatedly. “You're jumping around too much. I'm trying to type these essays because I need the cash to buy a Dojae t-shir-”

“You're buying merchandise from them! You know, there's a trust that an idol and the host have and I don't think you're giving it your all. I give my 58% and I don't see you giving your 70%.” Mina yelled into her cell phone.

“None of those numbers make any sense.”

“My point is you're a traitor, and if you're not gonna help me take down Hyejeong once and for all, then I'll just do it myself!” Mina said, standing up from her bed and walking towards the window. She looked out, and imagined her glaring was burning the people walking past. “When I become the number one soloist in the school, you're going to wish you went along with my plan, just know that, Choa! I may give you an autograph once I climb my way up to number one, but that's all you get from me! Do you hear me? I'm being serious!”

“Yea, okay, Mina. Be at the studio three hours before the usual time, we have to start recording your new single. And don't even think about being late because I will bring you under rock bottom faster than you can say whom.” Choa said.

“Why whom out of all words?” Mina asked.

“Sorry, these essays are super grammatically correct. I haven't seen the word who in what feels like an entire decade. Anyway, don't be late tomorrow or I'll kill you before you can become a wanted criminal.” Choa hung up the phone without bidding Mina goodbye, and the now almost D-List idol walked herself to class.

Last year wasn’t easy for Mina. She started the year at the top of the idol food chain, and soon found herself free falling. But at her prime, she was the second most popular school idol. Yeah, sure, she was kind of a rotten person, but she made catchy pop music that everyone on campus couldn't help but like. Mina soon found herself in the Star Three. A few years after the invention of the Idol Program, the University’s dean had decided he needed to introduce a ranking every month. It established even stronger focus on fandoms for every school idol, and rivalries between fans soon began to spark. It was a very good marketing strategy, and earned idols and the school alike tons in revenue. The Hot25 was posted on every wall in the school, and included three separate categories: soloists, duos, and groups. The top three in each category were dubbed the Star Three. The Star Three had multiple benefits. You would always see people in Star Three receiving free lunch, passes for essays, free items from the Student Store; it was quite the life to live.

Unfortunately for Mina, all of that had changed at the end of last semester. Her rival, Hyejeong, who she had a feud with for who knows how long, had decided to become an idol. Naturally, Mina didn't really think anything of it; Hyejeong didn't have the musical appeal Mina had, Hyejeong would never get as popular as her. As it turns out, Mina was wrong, and Hyejeong did in fact get more popular than her. In an attempt to rise up from the fourth position in soloists, she had tarnished her own reputation. It all started last January.

✭

“Excuse me, excuse me!” Mina was pushing through a crowd of people who were crowded around the new Hot25 list. “Move it! Most of you guys aren't even idols, get out of my fucking way!” Making sure her purse didn't slip off her wrist, Mina quickly adjusted it so that it was now in its correct position on her shoulder. “Thank you!” She grunted as she patted down her hair blindly to make sure there were no flyaways. She scanned the list, and when she found her name, her eyes widened in shock. “What!” Mina lifted up her sunglasses and squinted to make sure she was seeing right. She was no longer number two on the Hot25 list for soloists. Mina was written beside the number four. “This is a mistake, it has to be!” Mina said, making her way out of the crowd.

Mina reached into her bag, and dug around for her cell phone. Holding the phone up to ear, Mina stormed through the hallways. There was no way she could have dropped two positions in a month. That never happens. Choa, Mina’s host, didn’t pick up after the first try. Mina groaned in frustration at everything that was going on, and threw her phone into her bag. Mina tried to keep a poker face while she stormed through the halls, but in her head, she was panicking. This would definitely ruin the streams of her next single, and the pins she wanted to put on sale definitely wouldn't meet the quota she wanted. She had never even heard of this Doyoung guy. Granted, she didn't really keep up with any other idol besides herself, but if you can go from the bottom 100 to the Hot25, and then into the Star Three, you should at least be known.

“Hey Mina, did you see the new Hot25?” There it was. That insufferable voice. It was so insufferable that it even ripped Mina straight out of her thoughts. 

Looking up from the ground, Mina tried to look as intense as possible. “Are you mocking me?” She asked, folding her arms. “Is it not enough that you obviously plotted with this Doyoung guy to knock me out of the Star Three? You really want to rub it in my face?” Mina sneered, and Hyejeong took a step back.

“Mocking you? I was just asking if you had seen the Hot25. Who knocked you out of the Star Three? They must've been super popular to have done that. You're a powerhouse, you know.” Hyejeong said, without a hint of mockery in her voice.

“Don't fucking-,” Mina stopped herself. “Hold on, why are you initiating conversation with me? How many times have I told you not to talk to me? I'm sure I've said something along the lines of ‘leave me alone’ at least seven times this semester, and it's only January.”

“I like to give you a chance each time you tell me to fuck of something.” Hyejeong said, with the hint of a smile. “I've been nothing but nice to you ever since we were kids, I feel like you should do the same.”

“Huh?” Mina was genuinely baffled at Hyejeong’s request. “You've had it out for me since day one. Remember when you stole my boyfriend in the fifth grade? I do.”

“You stole him from me first-”

“That doesn't give you permission to steal back!” Mina said. “We were pretty happy for those two days we dated, mind you. We probably could've been on the couples page in the yearbook. Speaking of yearbook awards! You took prettiest girl from me in the 7th grade. I know you bribed the yearbook team to do it!”

“That was chosen by a survey for every person in the 7th grade, and I nominated you, you know. I don't know why everyone picked me.” Hyejeong said.

Mina rolled her eyes. “Anyways, I don't know why I've been talking you for more than two minutes; you irritate the shit out of me.” Mina grabbed her phone, and began to dial Choa’s number again. “I will regain my spot on the Star Three. Just know that.” Mina was satisfied with that, and dramatically began to walk down the hallway again, without any clear direction. 

For now, Mina would remain silent about her position for the rest the month. If it did get out of hand, she’d have to take action. A lot of people on campus already owed her a few favors, so it shouldn't be that difficult to drag herself back to where she belongs.

Mina sighed in relief when the call connected. “Finally you picked up!” Mina said, before Choa could even greet her. “Choa, we have a problem. I was pushed not one, but two places on the Hot25. And you wanna know who's taken my rightful place at the semi-top of the list? The new idol Doyoung and Hyejeong. I really don't understand it! They clearly don't have my appeal. They're obviously just fads, but I wanted to inform you about the injustice of the idol ranking system.”

“Your whole appeal is based on you being unlikeable as a person but likeable as an artist. Did you really think that you would last for that long with an attitude like that? Someone was bound to overtake you, but no one has the courage to do it because they'd know you'd rip them apart.” Like every time Mina calls Choa, she was typing away on her computer, turning written essays into typed ones that could be submitted digitally. 

“You make it sound like I have no redeeming traits.” Mina said, before pushing a freshman out of her way. “I'm cute you know. You see this face? It sells. My music sells, too. Both of those combined give me my popularity. Hyejeong? Ugly and speaks like she talks with a mouth full of syrup. Doyoung dude? Has an overbite and probably doesn't shower. Cha Eunwoo? That guy’s good looking, I'll give that to him, but good enough to deserve number one over me? No.”

“Do you just call me to ramble? Half the stuff you say is nonsensical,” Choa began to backspace furiously. “And you need to stop calling me when I'm typing up essays, sometimes I put parts of your speech inside them because I'm not paying attention.”

“You're always typing essays. You never have time for me anymore.” Mina said with a pout.

“I see you every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. You call me every other day, too. You need to stop being so damn needy and just let the chips fall.” Choa said. “I think you're overreacting. Being a school idol is not that serious. You know what is serious? Your grades. When was the last time you took a look at those?”

“That's not the point!” Mina huffed. “Whenever I call to vent, you're super unsupportive, you know that? An idol and a host-”

“Have an inseparable bond, blah blah blah blah! You give me the same speech each time, I've almost have it completely memorized.” Choa said, before saving her work. “Just give it a month, we’ll record a new hit single and then you'll be back to number two. Don't kill anyone for your ‘rightful’ place at the top, okay?”

“I am making no promises. I hope you're ready to produce a new song. Everyone loves my trashy, auto tuned, bass heavy pop. As long as we stick to the to the formula, we’ll be fine.” Mina said, and nodded to herself reassuringly. 

“Okay, whatever. I'll call Jimin tomorrow morning and we can start producing a new song this week. Just keep your composure for the next little while.” Choa said, before hanging up.

A few days had went by and Mina was trying her best not to snap. She was starving because her pride wouldn't let her buy a meal from the cafeteria. She didn't have much energy to do anything that month, not even scream at anyone. Most of Mina’s focus during January was trying to figure out why everyone liked Hyejeong and Doyoung so much. Yes, she knew she wasn't likable, but Doyoung and Hyejeong couldn't have been much more likable than her, right? She had even given Doyoung and Hyejeong’s songs a listen, and they both put her to sleep. She didn't get how people could even like songs like that in the first place. Doyoung’s very first releases was a shitty generic pop song about wanting to kiss someone, and Hyejeong’s was those cheerful, give me strength songs that you would see on Barney. Mina didn't get it at all. There was barely any appeal there, but people seemed to love them.

Mina had decided to give Cha Eunwoo a visit. If anyone had any answers, it was him. “What does everyone see in these two new A-Listers?” Mina asked, sliding herself in the seat across from Eunwoo in the cafeteria.

“They're likable.” Eunwoo said, before taking a bite from his salad.

“To you.”

Eunwoo laughed. “More like to everyone on campus.”

“Why? They're both boring, kind of like you.” Mina winced internally after she said it. Cha Eunwoo was at the top of the social ladder, and not someone to upset. He was a hard person to make angry, but Mina had enough on her plate, she didn't need to make any more enemies. “No offense.”

“You answered your own question.” 

“Huh? Stop being cryptic with me. I hate that shit. This is not a fantasy novel!” Mina said, pushing Eunwoo’s salad away from him so he would focus on her.

Eunwoo sighed. “It's easy for people with boring or secret personalities to become popular. Everyone knows how much of a mean and rude person you are; your only redeeming trait as an idol is your music.” Eunwoo reached for his salad, but Mina grabbed it first and began eating it. Eunwoo rolled his eyes. “It's hard to make you sellable because you're malicious. When someone has the same personality as a piece of cardboard, it's easier to shape them into someone you like. That's why the new idols are getting popular. It's not the songs they made; it’s not even their talent. It's purely the mystery behind them.”

“So you're saying I'm fucked at this point?” Mina said, before popping a cherry tomato into her mouth.

Eunwoo shrugged. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Unless...” The gears in Mina’s head began to turn.

“Unless?”

“I have an idea thanks to you!” Mina was grinning now. “It'll take a few months to put in order, though.” Mina placed her index finger on her chin.

“Well, you have fun scheming for world domination.” Eunwoo said, getting up from his seat. “You owe me for the salad.”

✭

Outside of scheming, Mina had a pretty mundane month. January ended as fast as it came. While keeping tabs on Doyoung and Hyejeong, she noticed that Doyoung and Jaehyun, a member of JOAT, had become close. She had asked Chanmi, another idol, if she noticed it too since she started sharing a broadcasting station with Doyoung, and Chanmi only nodded, but wouldn’t elaborate. Mina was sure that there was more to it than that, but she decided it was best not to pry; Chanmi knew Mina well and if Mina asked more than she should've Chanmi would know she was plotting something. Hyejeong was being boring; she hadn't really been up to anything since knocking Mina off the Star Three. Even so, Mina made sure she was keeping a close eye on her. For now, she’d have to check up on the Hot25 again. Mina decided to go to a secluded area this time, rather than be caught actually caring about the Hot25. A lot of her popularity was also based on the fact that she was super pretentious, and showing any sign that she cared about some “dumb list” would ruin her image even more. Even so, the whole idea of not caring about the Hot25 was contradicted by the fact she was openly a fan of Ten from JOAT. 

Making her way to the North Eastern corner of the campus, Mina was expecting the best. She had released a new single with her usual sound and it was praised on the forums that the school website had. She smiled to herself and thought of the meal she would get today. Mina usually only ate one small meal a day, but she was planning on having a feast to celebrate her victory. On her way to her table, she would go to every place serving food until she reached her destination. When she reached the small, empty pavilion, Mina all but sprinted to the Hot25 list that was tapped to one one of the pillars. Once she stood in front of the list she prepared to celebrate, but what she saw almost made her scream. She had fallen right down to 25.

Like any other time she was in distress, she dug out her phone and dialed Choa’s number. Thankfully, Choa picked up after the first ring. “Wow you picked up fast this time. And don't start talking over me, I know you're typing essays like every other time I call you. My rank just dropped, like, 22 places on the list. I'm a B-List idol now! The person above is some girl named Jung Chaeyeon. Have you ever even heard of her? I haven't! God, no one has any common sense. Who even makes these lists?”

“A survey is made at the end of every month and is hosted in the cafeteria. It's kind of like a ballot thing. Anyway, maybe you're just losing appeal.” Choa said over the sound of typing. “People want nice idols, and you don't make the cut. Your music isn't enough to carry you anymore. Your song was super popular on campus, as usual; Johnny even used it while DJing for some function and everyone loved it. But it looks like no matter how good your music is, it won't account for how abrasive and bombastic you are.”

“Choa, you know I don't understand any of those big words.” Mina whined. “And you're going off topic! We need to make these people look bad!”

“Even if you make the people above you look bad, the people that didn't vote for you again still won't vote for you.” Choa said, and Mina groaned.

“I'll save a cat from a tree or something, just help me!”

“Sorry Mina, I'm not really all that into the covert ops stuff. I'm just the host of your broadcasts.” Choa said.

“You'll benefit from it too. My likability going up leads to the radio broadcast rating going up, and that means more merchandise! We will be sold out, and make more money for me and you.” Mina hoped she sounded persuasive enough. “What do you say?”

“I say you're on your own.” Choa said. “If you get caught doing whatever you're planning, then you'll be dropped all the way down to the bottom of the list. You'll be infamous.”

“Infamous has the word famous in it, and that's good enough for me.” 

Choa laughed. “You're crazy.”

“You love it.” Mina said.

“I wouldn't say love, but it is entertaining.” Choa said.

“I hope you're rooting for me at home.”

“I might be.” Choa said, and Mina hears Choa’s printer go off.

“Whatever, loser.” Mina laughed and hung up the phone. She had a busy night ahead of her. 

When Mina got back to her dorm, Seolhyun, her roommate, was already fast asleep. That was an advantage for Mina; Seolhyun was super nosey and would just get in the way. Creeping into her room, she quietly closed the door and tiptoed to her dresser, and turned on the lamp. Sitting on her bed, Mina opened her laptop and turned it on, impatiently hitting the touchpad while waiting for it to boot up. She opened up Google and typed in Jung Chaeyeon. Mina searched every corner of the web for something she could dig up on this girl. Mina was very persistent, and spent the whole night clicking on links, searching social media, and closing pop up tabs that came up until she decided to install AdBlock. Her efforts proved fruitful and she had found some very interesting things. 

“Myungjun,” Mina had made a call half asleep to the event organizer. “You know that concert on Valentine's Day?” She yawned. “Drop someone off the list and put me on, you owe me a favor.”

“You're lucky I'm scared of you.” Myungjun said, and Mina smiled sleepily.

“And you're lucky I helped you hook up with Mimi! I'm so kind you know that? I could've told her about your foot fetish but I didn-”

“Okay, okay! We get it.” Myungjun said. “You're booked. Now, please leave me alone.”

“Why are up this early?” Mina asked.

“I could ask you the same question.”

Mina scoffed. “Mind your own business.”

“Whatever, Mina. I hope you don't do anything irrational or I might get fired.” Myungjun said.

Mina laughed. “Rash? Why would I do something rash?”

“You're known for overreacting. I think I have a right to be worried.” Myungjun said.

“Don't worry, I just wanna promote my newest song to the public!” Mina said, while closing her laptop.

“You have a new song?” Myungjun asked.

“Of course I do. Now go eat Mimi’s pussy or something; I've got shit to do!” Mina hangs up the phone before Myungjun had a chance to be embarrassed.

Mina had exactly twelve days to see if this plan of hers would work out, and if it did, she would continue it. Mina’s motto was: “If there's a chance to play dirty, then get in the mud.” Mina thought the phrase was pretty poetic, and was proud she came up with something so beautiful. She should've majored in English. Mina prepared everything she needed for Valentine's Day in about two days time. Mina used a lot of her favors for this, but she thought it was worth the investment. Mina just needed one more thing to be done.

“I have the cat, Haebin.” Mina said into her phone. She was sitting on a bench, stroking the fluffy cat. “I'll find someone to put it up in the tree, you just get your stuff ready to take a picture.” Mina hung up the phone before Haebin could respond. Haebin knew where the meeting point was, so there was no need for Mina to double check with her. 

Mina’s only concern was getting the cat in the tree sooner rather than later, so she decided to ask the first person who walked her way. “Hey you. You like cats?” She asked a random boy, who looked oddly familiar. 

The boy only nodded in response. Mina hoped this guy wasn't mute. “Are you nimble?” 

The boy nodded again, signaling that he was in fact very nimble. “Okay…” Mina said. “Can you put this little girl up there?” Mina pointed to the tree behind her. “It's for a project in journalism, I swear. I'm not like a cat murderer or anything.”

The boy gave Mina what looked like a smile and took the cat into his hands. He tucked it under his shoulder and supported the cat’s stomach as he walked to the tree and grabbed onto one of the low hanging branches. To Mina’s surprise, the boy started doing swings and flips like an acrobat until he landed on one of the middle branches that was high enough to injure someone if they were unfortunate enough to fall. He returned to the ground just as gracefully as he went up, and smiled at Mina when he got down.

“Uh, Thanks- I don't know your name. What's your name?”

“Winwin.”

Mina nodded. “Thanks, Winwin.”

Winwin didn't say anything and bopped off to wherever he was heading before Mina stopped him. Mina sat down on the bench and waited for Haebin to arrive. In a few short minutes, Haebin and Mimi showed up with a Canon camera, and Myungjun at Mimi’s side, sporting a very tall ladder.

“Where's the cat?” Haebin asked.

Mina pointed upwards. “How did you get it all the way up there?” Mimi asked, shielding her eyes from the sun. “That's pretty high up.”

“I had a little help. Set up the ladder for me, Myungjun.” Myungjun grunted in response, but did as Mina asked.

“Okay, Mimi, I need you to take a picture of me on top of the tree.” Mina said.

Mimi stares at Mina, looking puzzled. “What about getting down?”

“What about it?” Mina asked.

“Well,” Mimi starts. “Wouldn’t it make more sense if people saw a picture of you coming down from the tree?”

“Fine, we’ll take a picture of me getting down from the tree, since you want to complain about it so bad!” Mina turned to Haebin. “All you have to do is make me look good. Give me a good front page header and a nice heartwarming story.”

“Why are you even doing this?” Myungjun asked.

“Didn't I tell you to mind your business two days ago? You'll see in a few days, just be patient.” With that said, Mina began to climb the ladder to reach the cat at the top. Surprisingly, the cat didn't seem to mind too much. “Alright, knock down the ladder real quick Myungjun.” Myungjun did as he was told and knocked down the ladder, so it was out of the frame. Mina did a few candid poses of her trying to pick up the cat until Haebin was satisfied. Mina then took Mimi’s idea to have a photo of Mina pretending to climb down. After her mini photo shoot, Myungjun raised the ladder and allowed Mina to climb down. “Here are your meal cards,” Mina said, reaching into her pockets. “Use them wisely.”

“Thanks, the article should be up on the school’s website after Valentine’s Day. Is that okay with you?” Haebin asked.

“That's perfect.” Mina bid the trio goodbye and made her way to Jimin’s recording studio. Mina needed to make a smash hit for Valentine’s Day that everyone would love. She was planning to make a song that people could have sex to. Because that's what Valentine's Day is all about, right? Jimin definitely had some lyrics for that. She had a little over a week to prepare for the event, and that was enough time to warm up her lip syncing. 

“Hey, Jimmy.” Mina said as she entered the studio.

“Hi, Maeng.”

“I want you to produce a new song for Valentine's Day. Something slow but with a sloppy beat and lyrics about sex around candles and roses. The usual stuff.” Mina said, taking a seat beside Jimin.

“You're usually not the one to make seasonal songs.” Jimin said.

“I know. But now I'm 25 on the Hot25 list. I need as much exposure as I can get.”

Jimin smirked. “Your rotten attitude finally bit you in the ass, huh-”

“Anyway,” Mina interrupted. “Do you think you could make me a song like that?”

“Of course I can.” Jimin said, while grabbing a notebook and pen. “But the beat you want will be kind of odd to make.”

“Your guitar’s name is Banana. You're not very far off from odd.”

“You're right,” Jimin grabbed Mina’s shoulder to shove her out of the door. “Now shoo, I need silence when I work.”

“Seolhyun coming over?”

Jimin smiled. “That too.”

The past week seemed to drag on. Maybe it was the excitement bubbling inside Mina, ready to burst, that made the first few weeks of February drag by so slowly. Mina had everything prepared. If she could get away with what she was about to do, Mina knew she could expand on the scheme a lot more. The University would have her back in the Star Three whether people liked it or not. Because Mina couldn't contain her excitement, it was hard to keep Seolhyun from what she was planning. She knew that if Seolhyun found out what Mina was doing, she would tell everyone, and then Mina’s plan would most likely be ruined. So when Seolhyun asked where Mina was going on Valentine's Day, Mina lied. Mina quickly left the dorm before Seolhyun could question her any further and made her way to the theatre.

“Hey, Kris.” Mina greeted the security guard that always stood at the idol entrance to the theatre. “It's been awhile.”

Kris nodded. “You haven't attended an event for months.”

Mina rolled her eyes. “Thank you for stating the obvious. I'm on the list.”

“You know where to go.”

Mina nodded at the giant and made her way through the familiar, damp, dim hallway that lead to the waiting room. She forgot how much she hated this place. It reeked of wet dog and she had to be careful where she stepped, because there always seemed to be a pipeline that was leaking. Opening the door to the waiting room, Mina was hit with the stink of people’s sweat and a wave of heat. Practically gagging, she took her seat at 99. Laying her purse on her lap, she reached into it to acquire her makeup and feigned touching up her face. She had a pretentious nature to upkeep. 

Someone tapped Mina on her shoulder and she turned to face them. It was Winwin. He gave her a small smile and a wave which Mina awkwardly returned. She looked to see who was seated beside him, and it was the remaining three members of JOAT. Mina was surprised that a quiet boy was in the campus’ most popular boy group, but Mina now knows why he looked so familiar to her when she saw him. Mina thinks she may just drop Ten for him. 

“You know this girl?” Taeyong asked. Winwin nodded in a silent response. “Was she the crazy girl that asked you to put the cat in the tree?” Winwin nodded again. 

“Crazy girl?” Mina asked. Scratch that last statement. “It was for a project.”

“What kind of project has you putting cats in trees?” Taeyong asked.

“You know, I don't like the amount of animosity in the atmosphere. Let's take that down several notches.” Mina said, before swiping a thin layer of gloss on her lips.

“Aren't you known for your animosity?” Ten asked. 

“I'm just sitting here, minding my business, and you guys decided to attack me out of nowhere. What if I like putting cats in trees? What are you going to do about it? Sue me for being a cat-putter-in-treer? I don't think so!”

“You're funny.” Winwin said, laughing.

“Pretty too,” Mina winked at her mirror. “Anyway, enough about me. What do you guys know about this Doyoung character? He's gotten pretty popular lately.”

“And you've gotten less popular.” Taeyong said.

“You know what, Taeyeon?” Mina said, holding out her index finger.

“It's Taeyong.”

“Whatever the fuck it is, it's broke. You've really been on my pussy lips since I've stepped in this room, and I'd like it if you would get off them! Aren't you dating your producer? Go ride him, not me!” Mina said angrily, and Taeyong’s mouth opened and closed a few times, but he didn’t respond.

“Doyoung.” Jaehyun sighed dreamily. “He's perfect. The perfect example of an idol. Have you seen him before? Perfect features, perfect vocals, perfect everything.”

“Okay,” Mina said flatly. “That was a subject change.” Suspicions began to be confirmed inside Mina’s head.

Out of boredom, Mina continued her banter with JOAT. Whenever Jaehyun got a glaze over his eyes and began going on about Doyoung, Mina made sure to take mental notes, so he could continue this investigation in later. 

Mina found JOAT to be pretty annoying. Winwin never talked, Ten was loud and obnoxious, (Mina had only liked him for his good looks anyway. He was officially dropped) Taeyong whined a lot, and the only thing Jaehyun ever talked about was Doyoung. One out of four of those is a definite advantage, but Mina had no idea what people saw in them. Their music was shit, their merchandise was shit, their stage presence paled in comparison to Mina’s, and they weren’t even that cute. Mina was cuter. 

Eventually, the first 98 idols finished performing. Mina gladly rushed up on stage, ready to put her plan in action. Mina pushed passed the security guard and walked on stage.

“Hey everyone,” Mina said to the crowd while adjusting her microphone. “Long time no see, right? Did you guys miss me?” The audience was silent. “Okay, gonna take the silence as a yes.” The audience erupted into a sea of applauds. Mina deadpanned and waited for the audience to calm down. “I have a special Valentine's song for you today, so I hope you guys enjoy it.”

Mina waited for the backtrack to play and began to lip sync her heart out. At first, the audience wanted to be hardasses and pretend to not enjoy it, but by the time Mina sang the chorus for the second time, everyone was singing along and cheering. Mina knew her plan would work now. When her song was done, the audience cheered as Mina did a curtsy. The announcer, Moon Bin, who was sporting a shiny red suit, came up to the stage to give Mina a short interview. Just then the lights went off for a few moments. Everyone screamed, and some were laughing out loud. When the lights came back on, a video of Jung Chaeyeon picking her nose and eating her boogers was projected behind Mina. Feigning shock, Mina pretended to be disgusted at the looping video. 

After everything had settled down, Mina made her way back through the idol entrance instead of going through the regular exit. “Thanks for the help, Yeoreum. As promised, here is one pair of Chanmi’s used panties.” It wasn't hard to bribe the techy to do some work for her with a reward like that one.

✭

After her plan proved successful, Mina released her new song the last week of February, and had four radio broadcasts that week. She was going to be pissed if she didn't move at least one spot up. Making her way to the North Eastern pavilion, she ran to the list that was already posted up. Quickly searching for her name, Mina sighed in relief when she found her name written in the 19th spot, and Jung Chaeyeon’s name nowhere in sight.  
Mina knew she couldn't repeat her first plan; people would start getting suspicious. So, she had a better idea. Yet again, she would need some help to bring her scheme to action. Mina made a call.

“Hi, Choa,” Mina greeted. “Do you know how to make a website?”

“Why do you need a website?” Choa asked, typing away. 

“I just do.” Mina said. “Can you help me out? I haven't spoken to you over the phone like this in a month!”

“You've been overworking me ever since February.” Choa pointed out.

Mina sighed. “That's besides the point! Can you help me out or no?”

“I guess I can. Meet me at my place right now. Don't be late.”

Mina made her way to Choa’s dorm. Choa came from some rich family, so that meant she had a single dorm to herself. This would be good for Mina. Unfortunately for Mina, she was running into a few obstacles on her way to her objective point.

“Hey, Mina!” Hyejeong greeted. “What's up?”

“Do you always have to keep tabs on me? Can you not leave me the fuck alone?” Mina asked, annoyance clear in her voice.

“I was just saying hi.” Hyejeong said, frowning slightly.

“Well, don't do that. As you can see I'm busy!”

“Doing what.” Hyejeong asked.

Mina groaned. “Do you not have a job? Is your employment asking me what I'm doing every damn time you come across me? You don't see me with my nose in your business whenever we cross paths!”

Hyejeong held her hands up in defense. “I was just curious.”

Mina crossed her arms. “Well, uncurious.”

Hyejeong sighed. “Why do you dislike me again?”

“Because you've had it out for me since day one! Always trying to beat me at everything. It gets tiring, you know! I don't know why you followed me to this college, too. Are you a spy? Are you going to kill me once you get the chance? Is that why you're so good at watching my every move?”

Hyejeong tried to hide a smile. “You ramble a lot.”

Mina’s eyes narrowed. “So now you're coming for my speech patterns? Could you get any worse.”

“Let's make a truce. I just wanna be friend-”

“Anyway,” Mina said loudly. “I have business to attend to.” She started to speed walk to Choa’s dorm. Once at Choa’s door, she knocked on the door so rapidly, that small marks were left on her knuckles.

“You don't need to do that.” Choa said, opening the door.

“Well, you need to answer the door.”

“I don't need to do shit for you. Take your shoes off before you come in.” After Mina took off her heels, Choa gestured for her to come in. “What do you need to build a website for anyway.”

“A thing.”

Choa’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of thing?”

Mina shrugged. “If I told you, you'd get mad at me.”

Choa sighed in annoyance. “Whatever, just come over to my desktop.”

Choa began to show Mina how to build a website. She taught her some basic coding so she could make the layout however she liked. Choa also linked her some useful material she may need. Mina was taking all of this in; she already knew how she would build her site. Mina asked Choa if there was a way to advertise her website, but Choa had informed her the only way to advertise your site was to do it manually, because she was sure the school wouldn't want to advertise what Mina was planning on making. Thanking Choa, Mina left with haste and made her way back to her own dorm. Mina found herself back on her bed with her laptop opened. She would focus on making her site pretty later. For now, functioning correctly was more important to her.

The next morning, Mina made her way to the library. Luckily, since it was still early, no one was there except for the librarian. With her laptop on one of the tables, Mina began to wirelessly print. Mina wasn't sure how many fliers she would need, so she printed 200 to start. Hopefully the librarian wouldn't be too mad about that. Standing by the printer, Mina started to browse Twitter to pass the time. More specifically, she searched her name and checked her indirects.

markeu @chwingum  
anyone else find the mina valentines song a lil weirdish?  
|  
it girl eun @kosilver  
replying to @chwingun  
stp being an anti it was good

ms mimi @qu9udan  
everyone says mina is mean but she gave me and haebin free meal cards so how bad can she be?  
|  
ning @sallyxie  
replying to @qu9udan  
wtf buy me lunch

yes I have a lisp @thiyeon  
whom tryna fucc to that mina song?

Someone tapped Mina’s shoulder and brought her out of her strolling spree. “You're in the way, Mina. That's your name right?”

Mina scoffed. “Yes, and you're, like, Baekhyun or something.”

“Jaehyun.”

“Whatever the fuck. I'm not done yet, so you’ll have to wait.” Mina said.

Jaehyun sighed. “You’re already at 47 copies.”

“Well, I'm printing 200.” Mina said matter of factly. 

“Why do you need 200 copies of something?”

“Why do you need to know business that isn't yours?” Mina shot back.

Jaehyun shrugged. “Fair enough.”

Mina smiled. “Are you and Doyoung dating?”

“No,” Jaehyun said, a little too quickly. “No, we’re not dating or anything like that.”

Mina didn’t believe him. “You talk about him a lot for someone who isn't dating.”

“Maybe I just like to talk about him.” Jaehyun said.

“That's fucking creepy. Anyway, I'll leave when I have my copies printed, then this is all yours.” Mina patted the printer and shooed Jaehyun away. Jaehyun complied, shaking his head as he walked back to his table. 

“Hi, Mina.” As if Mina needed anymore interruptions.

“Damn, you really like bugging me don't you?” Mina said, glaring at Hyejeong.

“You know, I don't think you've ever addressed me by name since the 7th grade.” Hyejeong said.

“And it will remain that way.”

Hyejeong sighed. “I didn't come here to chat though. I need the printer.”

“Well, obviously I'm still using it. And the dude sitting down over there is next in line.” Mina pointed to where Jaehyun had decided to reside. “So, wait your turn.” Hyejeong took a step towards the printer and Mina made a defensive maneuver right.

“Why are you guarding the printer?” Hyejeong asked, suspicion laced in her voice.

Mina pretended to look around the room. “I'm not guarding the printer.”

Hyejeong took a step to her left and Mina took another step right. Hyejeong then took a step to her right and Mina made a step to her left. Hyejeong then took two steps to her left and Mina took two steps to her right. They began to shuffle back and forth, both looking like a pair of fools. Hyejeong seemed to enjoy it immensely though.

“What are you hiding?”

“I’m not hiding anything.” Mina said, dodging Hyejeong.

Hyejeong laughed. “Yes you are.”

“No I'm not.” Mina said, taking a step right.

“Says who?” Hyejeong shot back, taking a step left.

Mina glared. “Me.”

“Cool.”

“Awesome.”

“Great.”

“Amazing.”

“Yep.”

“Mhm.”

“Spectacular.”

“Tremendous.”

“Grand.”

“Bitch.”

“What was that?” Hyejeong asked.

“Nothing.” The printer stopped making that awful sound that it makes when it's trying to process copies, and Mina snatched all 200 copies off the rack. “Anyway, it’s Jaehyun’s turn so go take a seat and occupy yourself. I'm sure an idiot like you can do that easily.” And with that, Mina all but ran for the exit.

Mina made her way towards the main building in the campus. It was where most of the base classes were held, so most people would be in class. Luckily enough, the hallways were a ghost town. It was also home to the most radio booths on campus, so students would flood it just for a chance to see their idol speaking into a microphone behind a pane of glass. Taking the 200 pieces of paper, she began to throw them by the handful. She made sure to tape some up on the wall with newly chewed pieces of gum. Mina even slid some under classroom doors for good measure. Once Mina was done advertising her website, she went to go buy herself a reward at the cafe. 

After a busy day, Mina opened the room to her dorm and took off her shoes. This was the first time she had been home at the same time as Seolhyun in awhile. She sat herself on the couch where Seolhyun was also sitting and sighed.

“Did you see this?” Seolhyun picked up a flier. “They were tossed around the main building. Who would name their site Rumor Has It? Isn't that an Adele song or something?”

“It's a good song.” Mina said, taking out her makeup wipes. “Have you visited the site yet?”

“Yea, the only thing on there right now is the Chaeyeon thing. The next post says more coming soon. Who do you think runs the site?”

“Does it look like I give a fuck?” Mina said while rubbing her face. “I'm sure it's just some loser looking for ad revenue. I doubt they have anything real on anyone.”

“What if they have something on you?” Seolhyun asked.

Mina laughed. “I doubt it. The person is gonna get caught before any real trouble gets started.”

“Well, someone tried tracking their IP address earlier. They couldn't. This person obviously came prepared.” Seolhyun said, reaching for one of Mina’s wipes. 

“It's a stupid scare tactic. I bet it's just Yuta looking for a good laugh. I give it a week.” Mina said, while snatching back the wipes.

Seolhyun pouted, but leaned back on the couch. “Mhm, I don't know. I feel like this could get pretty big.”

Mina shrugged. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Anyway, I have a date tonight with Jimin. See ya, bitch.” Seolhyun made her way out the dorm.

“Please, don't come back.” Mina yelled after her.

Seolhyun stuck her head back into the room. “I won't. Jimin will be keeping me busy all night.”

“Don't get herpes!” Seolhyun gave Mina the finger, before closing the door behind her.

Since Seolhyun was away, Mina could start a new blog post early, and work on her website in the process. She made the theme gold and white, while making the buttons at the top of the page look like they belonged on a wedding invitation. Today, instead of making one girl look bad, she made the three people above her on the list look bad. The three unfortunate souls above her were named Exy, Wendy, and Zico. Mina put her fingers to work. Before that, she had to make a call.

“Hello, is this the Red Cross foundation? My name is Kwon Mina. I was just wondering if I could make a donation.” After speaking with them for a few minutes, Mina made one final call. 

“Hey, Haebin. I need you to do me a teeny favor again. I have a 500 dollar Visa gift card with your name on it. I just made a very generous donation to the Red Cross foundation, and I would love it if my favorite journalist could squeeze that into tomorrow’s newspaper for her favorite idol.” After a deal was made, Mina hung up and began typing.

The next day, Mina decided to take a leisurely stroll in the hallways. There wasn’t any ulterior motive or anything like that.

“Did you hear? Exy hasn't stopped wetting the bed.”

“Apparently, Zico needs a side of dog food for every meal.”

“Is that serious?”

“The pictures of him eating dog food were pretty real.”

“That Mina girl made a huge donation to the Red Cross foundation.”

“Really? I thought she was a bitch.”

“I guess she's realized she can't be a bitch anymore.”

“Is it true that Wendy sniffs her farts after she deals them?”

“That's a weird ass rumor. Where'd you hear that from?”

“That new website, Rumor Has It. A bunch of fliers advertising it were thrown around in the hall yesterday. The owner made a new blog post the same day. It had everything to make the posts credible. Pictures, quotes, even witness statements. It’s kind of weird.”

Trying not to smile, Mina made her way to her next class. 

✭

April rolled around as March ended on a good note: Mina’s latest release had been super successful, and people seemed to be liking her more. Mina found herself at the North Eastern pavilion of the University once again as she prepared herself for the best. To her surprise, someone else was too.

“Excuse me,” She tapped the person on the shoulder. “You're in my way.” The figure turned around to face Mina. 

“This is public property.” Taeyong said.

“Okay, you're still in my way,” Mina made a gesture for him to move to her left. “I want to see the list and I have reputation of not caring so I can't do it in a populated area. You can keep a secret, right?” Mina made sure to sound as sarcastic as possible.

“You're number eleven now.” Taeyong replied. “You went from two to four to twenty-five to nineteen to eleven all within a span of five months.”

“Is there a problem?” Mina asked, smiling. 

“No. I just find it weird that just as you fell all the way down to the bottom of the Hot25, the person above you gets their reputation ruined right after your performance. Just after that, an article is released making you look good. Then, a website was advertised, with about 200 fliers, that's sole purpose is to make people look bad, and Jaehyun saw you print 200 copies of something the same day. On said day, the website makes a blog post that slanders the next 3 people above you on the list. The very next day, the school's newspaper highlights you making a very big donation to the Red Cross. It all seems pretty fishy.” Taeyong said conversationally. 

“Well that's just you. I have better things to do with my time than try to salvage my already bad reputation.” Mina said. “I'm an idol for the arts, not the charts.”

Taeyong rolled his eyes. “You're known for being irrational. I have a right to be suspicious.”

“Speaking of suspicion,” Mina said, changing the subject. “I also have a sneaking suspicion. Jaehyun and Doyoung are dating, aren't they? It's kind of obvious. Jaehyun is fucking dumb, always talking about Doyoung like he's the light of his life. They should really tell people, you know. It would be a shame if someone were to out them.”

“And who would do that?” Taeyong asked, crossing his arms.

“Let's just say Rumor Has It has dirt on them.” Mina was lying. “I know the owner personally. I don't think they'd be afraid to release whatever they have.”

“I'm sure you don't have dirt on them. They're pretty secretive.” Taeyong caught on.

“Oh, I do. I have dirt on you too.” Mina was bluffing. “An incident in your childhood. Something to do with stealing. Don't think you can hide it. I have all kinds of sources.” Mina hoped the ambiguity of the statement would cause Taeyong to back down. “And I'm not afraid to do whatever it takes to shut you up. Just know that. 

Taeyong’s face hardend. “How did you find out?” Bingo.

“Like I said, I have plenty of sources. I bribed the school’s newspaper to write articles about me. You know that. I have lots of connections. So, I can only hope you'll be able to keep quiet. Wouldn't want JOAT and Doyoung to be ruined all in one package. That'd just be terrible.” Mina left the conversation at that and stalked off. 

Mina made her way back to the dorm. As usual, Seolhyun wasn't there, which made it all the more easy for Mina to snoop around. Mina had written articles for the five people above her, but decided to put them on hold in favor of some investigation. It was easy to look up Taeyong’s criminal record. Apparently, no one in the school knew about it. Nothing came up in the search on twitter when Mina tried to search for anything about his past. The perfect evidence. The hardest part would be trying to out Jaehyun and Doyoung’s relationship. The word covert ops came to mind. Mina should thank Choa for saying that to her a few months ago. Mina had one more little thing to look up, and then she would head to a certain someone’s dorm.

Mina, dressed in all black, decided to put her plan in action that night. Mina’s heels clicked on every surface she stepped on, so it kind of defeated the purpose of wearing all black. Sneaking to the boy’s dorms, Mina made sure that there was no one else lurking around campus this late at night. Finally, making it to her destination, she rapped on the door. Doyoung’s roommate, Johnny, opened the door.

Mina smiled at him. “Hi, is Doyoung in?” 

The boy shook his head. “No, why?”

“Good. Can I come in?”

The roommate gave Mina a suspicious look. “Why would I let you in?”

“Because if you don't let me in,” Mina began, while reaching into her purse. “I have several statements from several people, with pictures, that have seen you sleeping around with random girls at clubs you DJ at. While you're not necessarily an idol, you're breaking the Idol Code. I don't think you'd want to get suspended from idoldom now do you, DJ Johnny?” 

Johnny scoffed. “Aren't you breaking the idol code by trespassing and blackmailing?”

“That literally isn't the point. Let me in or these go out! And if you speak a word of what happens here, I have the money to get you expelled.” Mina waved the papers and pictures in Johnny’s face. Defeated, Johnny let Mina in. 

Mina wouldn't be long. She went into Doyoung’s room and rummaged through his stuff. She grabbed anything to prove that he and Jaehyun were in a relationship. She hit quite the gold mine. Pictures, corny love letters, poetry, and drafts of songs produced for each other. The spy haphazardly shoved everything in her purse. Making sure everything looked as if a 5’3 girl didn't raid the room, Mina cleaned the area. Without bidding Johnny goodbye (Mina didn't know why she would), she rushed out of the dorm as fast as she could in heels, and made her way home. 

Careful not to wake Seolhyun, Mina quietly took off her heels before she stepped into the dorm room. 

“Where were you?” Seolhyun flicked the light on as Mina entered.

“I was out.” Mina said quickly.

“You've been ‘out’,” Ensue air quotes. “A lot recently. What have you been up to?”

Mina shrugged. “Nothing.”

Seolhyun rolled her eyes. “Yes, because going out at eleven o'clock at night and not coming back until midnight implies you were doing nothing.”

“I like to take strolls.”

“You complain about how much exercise walking to class is.” Seolhyun said.

“I don't like that tone of yours.” Mina held the strap of her bag and pointed at her. “You always sneak out to go have sex with Jimin. I feel like I have the right to do my own things without question.”

Ignoring that, Seolhyun pointed to Mina’s bag. “Why is your bag so overstuffed?”

“It's not overstuffed.”

“Yes it is.”

“To you.”

Seolhyun held out her hand. “Give me the bag.”

“Why? It's my bag.” Mina held it defensively.

“Because I always tell you my business! Tell me yours!” Seolhyun got up, ready to pounce on Mina.

“It's clothes!”

“Liar!” Seolhyun lunged for Mina and tried to grab the bag. Mina held her ground and didn't let Seolhyun grab it so easily. For a good two minutes it was a game of tug-of-war, until the straps broke. Papers flew everywhere. All of Mina’s evidence was laid across the room for Seolhyun to see. “What the hell is this?” Seolhyun asked, picking up a picture.

“Research?” Mina said unconvincingly. 

Seolhyun sifted through Mina’s photos of Johnny, Doyoung and Jaehyun. “Where did you get these?”

“The Black Market.”

Seolhyun looked up at Mina. “What were you planning to do with all this research?”

“Safe keeping.” Mina said.

Seolhyun gasped. “Were you planning on outing them?”

“No, but that's a good idea.”

“You're running Rumor Has It? Aren't you?”

“No.” Mina said, shaking her head quickly.

“I knew it!” Seolhyun said triumphantly. “It seemed a little too convenient that you were spending time in your room typing all day. It seemed a little too convenient that the layout of the site was gold and white. You also type like you talk.”

“So what are you gonna do? Tell on me?” Mina asked, crossing her arms.

“No,” Seolhyun threw the material at her. “But you need to think about the consequences of your actions before you do this. I'm going to bed.”

Mina would be lying if she said those words didn't move her. But she didn't care. The next two weeks of April, Mina spent most of her time writing blog posts and hinting at a big expose. Mina didn't contact the newspaper this time. Both Seolhyun and Taeyong had become suspicious of those articles, so Mina thought it was safe to leave it at the two that were posted. The weeks went by smoothly. Seolhyun didn't bother to interfere with Mina’s plans, but it was obvious that she was angry. Seolhyun had been ignoring Mina for two weeks straight. Mina pretended not to care. On the last week of April, Mina needed to head to the library again to check out a book of vocal technique. 

“You threatened Johnny?” Taeyong had saw Mina go into the library. She had stayed in her dorm for the rest of the month so Taeyong hadn’t seen her in awhile. He had a few choice words for her. “Everything everyone says about you is right. You may make good music, but you're a terrible person.”

“I did what I had to do to get what I needed. You can't really blame me for that, can you?” Mina pretended to look interested in a book that was on the shelf.

“Why are you doing this? It seems really stupid to do this much over something that won't matter in the future.” Taeyong said.

“I have to prove something to someone.”

“Okay, but is it really worth all of this?” Taeyong asked. “You're going to get expelled if someone finds out.”

“Well, they won't find out, and I'll do whatever it takes so it stays that way. This is all I have over her. This is the only thing that I'll ever be better at than her. And I won't let it slip from my grasp so easily. I worked my ass off to get in the Star Three. I was finally better at something than her and then she just comes in and knocks me down like any other time. It won't end that way again. Not if I can help it.” Mina said, before pushing her way passed Taeyong and out the library.

✭

It was the middle of May now. Mina was back in the Star Three. Strangely, she didn't feel happy. Seolhyun’s words rang in her head, and so did Taeyong’s. She kept asking herself, was something as stupid as being a school idol worth all of this? Mina tried convincing herself it was; she lied to herself so much, she began to believe it. Slowly, she was turning back into the person she was in January. She had to convince herself this was a good thing, too. Nothing eventful happened. This was the most normal Mina’s life had been in months. Mina was attending broadcasts and working on more catchy music. She hadn't seen Hyejeong since May, and Seolhyun wasn't completely ignoring her anymore. At the end of May, Mina found herself in the waiting room under the theatre again. JOAT wasn't attending the “Summer Bash” concert, so Mina was the 100th idol. 

Mina didn’t keep track of how much time had passed; she didn't really care that much. The security guards had to come down to inform her that it was her turn to go up. Mina walked on stage and stood in front of the crowd. Remembering who she was, Mina embraced the cheers that the crowd gave her. She was planning on actually singing live this time, just to impress them. After her song was over, Mina waited for Bin to give her an interview like he usually does. “How are you feeling, Mina.” But the voice was Taeyong’s.

Mina faked a big smile. “I'm fine.”

“How do you feel about being in the Star Three again?” Taeyong asked.

Mina, standing tall, smiled and waved at her fans while answering. “It feels like being home.”

“It must've taken a lot of work to get back up there.” Taeyong said. “You fell to 25 in February.”

“Well, when your music is as catchy as mine, it's not that hard to climb back up the Hot25.” Mina said, and the audience laughed.

Taeyong smirked. “Were there any other factors in this?”

“No.”

“Really? Because if you look up here,” Just like in the fashion that Mina had used not too long ago, a video projector from the other side of the theatre began to play a video. This time it was just a black screen. But the audio was what's important. “Because in these audio clips it shows you've taken that extra mile.” The audio clips being played was the conversation Mina and Taeyong had last month at the pavilion. Included with the threats and most importantly, the confession that Mina was the owner of Rumor Has It. The second clip was actually surveillance footage of Mina in the doorway of Johnny’s dorm. Of course, it included everything she said, and when Taeyong fast forwarded the video, it showcased Mina in a rush to leave the scene. Those few minutes were probably one of the most awkward ones Mina had ever experienced in her entire life. The silent crowd began to boo and jeer and even throw all their food items at them. Mina didn't really blame them. She kind of deserved it. The only choice she had was to back off stage and hope that she wouldn't be expelled. 

✭

Luckily for Mina, she didn't get expelled, but she did have to clean the university over summer, with Hyejeong as her supervisor. Her position on the Hot25 did drop tremendously. She earned the nickname Hot1000, because that was her supposed rank now. One day, around July, Hyejeong thought she had the right to converse with Mina again.

“It seems your master plan failed.” Hyejeong commented.

Mina glared. “Shut up.”

“You kind of overreacted with your whole ranking thing.”

“Did I really overreact?” Mina dropped the mop. “Since day one you've always tried to outdo me. When I was good at something you always had to be better. The one thing, the one thing, I was good at, you had to come and take it right from my hands. Do you think I had a right to be overactive-”

“No.”

“Anyways, all I wanted was one thing to excel in and I got it. Even my personality didn't get in the way because my music was good.” Mina said, before picking the mop back up.

“What if I did everything you did because I liked you?” Hyejeong said.

Mina deadpanned. “Huh?”

“I said what I said.”

Mina laughed nervously. “We don't even know eachother that well. I've been yelling at you since the day we met.”

“We can get to know each other.”

“We’ll see about that.”

✭

It was the beginning of the year again and the school was clean thanks to Mina. Because of her little stunt last semester, no one wanted to talk to her. Now, it was time to redeem herself with a PR stunt. She was planning to out Jaehyun and Doyoung as revenge, but they outed themselves, so this was the second best option. It was the school's opening festival and once Mina got on the mic the crowd booed and told her to get off stage.

“Okay, guys, calm down. I know you don't like me right now but I have something to say.” Mina began.

“Get off the stage, bitch!”

“Hey, hey!” Mina pointed to the crowd. “None of that!” She took a deep breath. “Okay, I may have done some bad things, yeah, and I shouldn't have done them, but honestly, you guys are at fault here too. I may have dealt the cards but you guys played the hand! You all loved it. Like, come on, who would really go to a site that was advertised on black and white ink in the middle of a school hallway. But, I will take the blame for any emotional distress I may have caused. I just want to sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart. So, I'm sorry. I promise it won't happen again and I hope you guys can get me to the Star Three again,” On the last note, the crowd booed Mina off stage. “It was a joke! A joke! You guys need to learn a sense of humor!” Mina yelled as she got off stage.

**Author's Note:**

> i dont rly like the ending and had to revise it a lot and that was the end product i hope that the next installment wont have such a rushed ending either way I hope u enjoyed!


End file.
